welcome to bbc news, i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: coming, ready or not. donald trump is en route to the uk for his much—anticipated state visit. the search for eight missing climbers in the himalayas is due to resume after being suspended due to bad weather. a 13—storey cruise ship crashes into a quay in venice, reigniting calls for a ban. and d—day remembered. this week sees the 75th commemorations of the landings that changed the course of world war ii.

it is a visit the uk has been busily preparing for, and many will be watching intently. president trump has taken off and is on his way for his long—planned state visit. ahead of the trip, mr trump has already made news with his controversial comments about brexit and the contest to replace theresa may as leader of the governing conservative party. our diplomatic correspondent james landale has more. donald trump hasn't even arrived for his state visit, and already he is making headlines, staking out his agenda on brexit, china and iran, ruffling feathers ahead of protests that could match those he faced last year. he said britain should pursue a no—deal brexit, be careful before giving china access to technology, and go all out for a trade deal that his ambassador admitted would involve the nhs.

your national healthcare service is the pride of the country. it is a highly, highly emotionally charged issue. do you feel that healthcare has to be part of the deal? i think probably the — you know, the entire economy would, in a trade deal. all things that are traded would be on the table. which includes healthcare. i think so. over the next three days, president trump will get all the pageantry of a state visit — dinner with the queen, lunch with the prime minister, d—day commemorations in portsmouth. but the potential for disagreement looms large, over how to tackle the threat from iran, if a chinese telecoms firm should provide part of uk's 56 mobile network, and whether a future trade deal would mean chlorinated chicken in british supermarkets. such is the concern of some, they say the state visit should not even be taking place. some of the things donald trump has done over the last two, three years, londoners find abhorrent and offensive —

rolling back the reproductive rights of women, separating children from their parents on the mexican border, introducing a ban muslim—majority countries. we march down whitehall... and he is not alone. tens of thousands of people are getting ready to protest. i think lots of people are going to be taking the day off work and coming down to protest, tojust send a message both to donald trump, to our government and to the world that everything he represents is rejected by the people here. this state visit is designed to celebrate an old alliance — flags and heads of state standing together, commemorating a shared history and sacrifice. there's a whole list of things that we don't agree with the administration on, but it doesn't affect the fact that we have the most important partnership that there is in the world forfreedom, democracy, the rule of law, the things that really matter, and that's what we're celebrating. when donald trump arrives here tomorrow morning, he is going to get all the bells

and whistles of a full state visit. but beneath the pomp, there will also be politics, and so for all the symbolic unity, there will be differences too. the political analyst and author eric ham says the relationship between the countries is still of utmost importance. well, i think people will be looking to see if president donald trump reinforces the alliance, the history, the decorum of the relationship between the united states and the uk. and of course, given that this is a president who has a tendency to eschew protocols and norms, of course, many will be watching as well for some of the reality tv moments that we typically see from this president, both domestically as well as abroad. do you think the uk and the us still have a special relationship

at this point? 0h, absolutely they do. in fact, we've seen leaders overcome the domestic political issues to actually rise above that, to actually ensure that the relationship remains whole. we saw that with tony blair and george w bush, two very strange bedfellows, and we've seen this relationship over the course of time. of course, the relationship now, given the tendencies of president donald trump, have certainly, i think, pushed the relationship to a very different direction. but nevertheless, this is a relationship that has endured over time, and i think it will continue to do so, even with a president who is seen as a very unconventional politician. we have to talk about the royals here, and some have suggested that donald trump or any president being seen with the uk royals can boost their popularity back home. is that the case? well, given where this president

stands, and how closely aligned he is with his base, i don't think we will see the president get a boostjust by proximity to the royals. however, i think where we could see the president actually move the needle is actually rising above the level of partisanship which we know he is wont to do. and so i think actually cementing the relationship, cementing the closeness and how special the relationship is, i think that will go a long way in ensuring that this president is seen as taking not only world politics seriously, but also the relationship very seriously, and i think that could move the needle, particularly with independents here in the united states. and of course, i can't let you go without asking about the duchess of sussex, meghan markle,

"nasty" comment. it's on tape, he has said it, but he has called it fake news. actually, that is one of the biggest trending items on twitter, and this is a president who will typically say things and then turn right around and say that he did not say them, because again, this is a president who cannot help but speak to his base, who will rely on what comes out of his mouth as opposed to what the facts actually belie. and so i think that is why this upcoming visit is fraught with so many political landmines, because the question is, will the president turn off his need, his desire, to engage in partisan political theatre and rise above that, or will he continue to do much like what we saw him do injapan just a week earlier? a rescue mission to find eight mountaineers missing in the himalayas is due to resume. a separate group of four british climbers have been airlifted to safety from india's second—highest mountain. officials say there had been an avalanche. yogita limaye sent this report from india's northern

state of uttarakhand. it's one of the toughest mountains in the world to climb. not many have dared to take on nanda devi's jagged peaks. this is video filmed by a group of mountaineers a few years ago. now, in these icy slopes, eight climbers are missing. they were being led by martin moran, a man well known in the climbing community. this is a photo of the team before they set out, three weeks ago. they were to return to base camp on friday. when they didn't, a search was launched. today, these four british climbers were airlifted to safety. they were part of the same group, but thought to have been on a different mission in the mountain. they are now helping with search efforts for the eight still missing.

they were able to give us some inputs about the general direction in which these remaining mountaineers have gone. there seems to have been multiple avalanches in that general area. all 12 climbers had taken permits from the indian government for the nanda devi mountain. they went through the eastern base camp and then appear to have split into two groups. the eight who are missing were trying to ascend an unclimbed summit of over 6,400 metres, possibly along this ridge. after searching from the east of the mountain, authorities have told us they are now looking from the direction of this glacier in the south—east. the moran family has asked for the search area to be widened. i'm still holding out hope, ‘cause people can go missing in the himalaya for a week. you know, you can get trapped, and then might have to dig a snow hole and survive for several days.

but the monsoon is moving in now, which, you know, is very heavy rain in the indian lowlands, and then it's dumping fresh amounts of snow and bad weather in the mountains. you know, and we are worried that there's an avalanche involved. but, as more time goes by, hopes of finding them are fading. china has made a rare acknowledgement of the tiananmen square protests and following crackdown. students and workers held a massive pro—democracy protest in beijing's tiananmen square in the spring of 1989. many were killed in a brutal clampdown by the communist authorities. reporting on the event is heavily censored in china, but defence minister wei fenghe has told a regionalforum in singapore that stopping the turbulence was the correct policy. translation: everybody is concerned about tiananmen after 30 years. throughout the 30 years, china under the communist party, has undergone many changes. do you think the government was wrong with the handling

ofjune the 4th? there was a conclusion to that incident. that was a political turmoil that the central government needed to quell. the government was decisive in stopping the turbulence. that was the correct policy. our asia—pacific editor celia hatton put those comments into context for us. he shows up and deals with the normal issues, taiwan, he talks about the south china sea, and then he's asked a question about tiananmen. he could have batted it away and moved on, but he did not. he took a defiant stance, giving some comments — unusual comments. you almost never hear chinese public figures speaking about what happened in 1989. so, yes, he basically defended what the government did then. he defended the crackdown and said, if china hadn't gotten rid

of that turbulence, it wouldn't have enjoyed the stability and the development that it enjoys today. so quite a controversial stance, but he didn't say anything about what happened back then. there are so many unanswered questions and details that we still do not know. the italian government says it is ready to ban large cruise ships from the giudecca canal in venice after a huge cruise ship collided with a dock. the msc opera collided with a smaller boat at the san basilio docks along the giudecca, which provides access to the popular st mark's square. its use by large cruise ships has been criticised locally. the environment minister, sergio costa, says they have been working on the issue for months and are now nearing a solution. katharine da costa reports. horns blaring and out of control, the cruise ship ploughs into the dock, ramming a small tourist boat, and sending dozens of people running for safety. on board, stunned passengers brace

themselves for impact. someone else went in the water. back that way! watch out! back, back, back! it was just a massive shock and we were sort of trembling. we couldn't believe what we were seeing, and just to see this thing out of control wasjust, you know, it was almost literally unbelievable. the collision happened this morning on the giudecca canal, one of busiest in venice, adding to growing pressure for large ships to to be banned. translation: the accident that happened here today — in the end everything was fine, but it could have been a tragedy. the ship's owners, msc cruises, have blamed a technical issue and say they're helping the authorities with their investigation.

stay with us on bbc news. still to come: motor racing meets agriculture. we will tell you about tractor racing in russia. the queen and her husband began their royal progress to westminster. the momemt of crowning in accordance with the order of service, by a signal given, the great guns of the tower shall be shot off. tributes have been paid around the world to muhammad ali, who has died at the age of 7a. outspoken but rarely outfought, he transcended the sport of boxing, of which he was three times a world champion. he was a good fighter. he fought all the way to the end, even through his illness. yes, he did. uefa imposes an indefinite ban on english clubs playing in europe.

today is the 20th anniversary of the release of the beatles lp sergeant pepper's lonely hearts club band, a record described as "the album of the century." this is bbc world news, the latest headlines. american president donald trump has set off in air force one for his official state visit to the united kingdom. the search for eight missing climbers in the himalayas is due to resume after being suspended due to bad weather. let's turn to germany now, where chancellor angela merkel‘s governing coalition has been a dealt a severe blow. the head of herjunior coalition partner, the social democrats, is resigning after the party's dismal performance in last month's european elections. andrea nahles said she no longer had the support she needed. ramzan karmali reports. andrea nahles, no longer the leader of the social democrat

party in germany. she only took the helm of the sdp 14 months ago from martin schulz. like her predecessor, her demise has been triggered by poor election result. in a statement, ms nahles said that with after discussion with party members she no longer had necessary support to carry out her duties. the sdp is a junior partner in germany's coalition government with angela merkel‘s christian democrats. last year they trailed third behind the cdu and a resurgent green party. their 16% share of the vote was an all—time low. despite this, ms nahles's resignation was a big surprise to her coalition partners and political analysts. translation: of course i also have respect for the decision the party must make in respect

to the success of the sdp. regardless, i would like to say on behalf of the government we will continue the government's work with all seriousness. the centre—left sdp has been in coalition with the cdu since 2017 and that is due to last until 2021. but andrea nahles has been criticised by those from the left of her party for remaining part of the coalition. but the fear for many in the cdu is that the resignation of ms nahles could lead to the sdp leaving, triggering a snap poll. they were warned not to endanger the coalition. translation: i assume the spd will undergo a quick succession without hindrance to the functioning of the grand coalition. in the cdu we believe that there is no time to play politics. we stand by the grand coalition. the most recent opinion polls put the spd share of the vote at 12%.

but an imminent election could also be bad news for their senior coalition partners. for the first time ever, the greens have overtaken the cdu as germany's most popular party. us federal aviation administration has warned that some boeing 737 planes may have faulty parts that need replacing. csaa says over 300 aircraft could be affected. the plane was grounded globally in march after two crashes and concerns over its new anti— stall software. wildfires are raging in alberta, canada, where a lack of rain has led to multiple blazes. around 10,000 people in the north of the province have been forced from their homes as fire crews battle as many as two dozen fires. the dry weather has increased the risk of fire spreading, and officials say they don't expect any rain in the area for at least two weeks.

this week, commemorations will take place across britain and france to mark the 75th anniversary of the d—day landings — the allied invasion of normandy in 19114 which did much to change the course of the second world war. our special correspondent allan little reports. what happened on these beaches changed the course of human history and helped liberate a continent. desire dajon—lamare was 12 years

old, and kept a diary. he lived near the beach, in the path of the biggest naval invasion force ever assembled. where the weight of battle had fallen heaviest, it was a scene of utter destruction. the battle to take the city of caen lasted weeks. allied bombardment destroyed most of it. 20,000 french civilians would be killed in the three—month battle of normandy. arlette varin—baudin was nine. she survived an american air raid. her mother and grandmother were killed, along with her ten—year—old brother.

were so many civilian casualties inevitable? after the war, the question would divide a france which had to live with the humiliation of defeat and occupation by nazi germany. michel pepin was 1a on d—day.

the suggestion outrages colette marin—catherine. she was a 16—year—old member of the resistance. her brother died in a nazi camp. she will hear no criticism of the allies. but postwar france would be haunted by this — that boots that landed on these beaches had come almost entirely from the english—speaking world, and france would have to reconcile itself to the inescapable new reality of american global power.

but postwar france would be haunted by this — that boots that landed on these beaches had come almost entirely from the english—speaking world, and france would have to reconcile itself to the inescapable new reality of american global power. final preparations are being made for the islamic festival of eid al—fitr, expected to begin at nightfall on tuesday. the festival, which marks the end of the month of ramadan, is traditionally a time of feasting and present—giving. from tunisia to indonesia, families are out shopping for new clothes and gifts to exchange. there are also huge trafficjams in some places as people travel home to their families to begin the celebrations. when you think of motor racing, formula 1 or nascar are probably the sort of things that come to mind. but in one town in southern russia,

the need for speed takes a very different form — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. # i drove my tractor through your haystack last night... who needs ferrari when you've got massey ferguson? why go with mercedes when you can opt forjohn deere? every year, thousands of people come here because they are big fans of tractors. # i've got a brand—new combine harvester. # and i'll give you the key... and, if you thought this was a sedate kind of affair, think again. these machines can really move, flying around the track at speeds of 100 km/h. there isn't a haystack or puddle that can stop them — potentially dangerous for a a few journalists who got a little too close to the action, although no—one was hurt. and how better to start a race than with a little light artillery?

to be honest, this is not a particularly lucrative sport, but the winner did get, well, a new tractor. it seems in motor racing, as in agriculture, you reap what you sow. and finally, liverpool's footballers have been celebrating their champions league victory with an open top bus parade through the city. merseyside police estimate three quarters of a million fans turned out to welcome the team home from madrid, where they beat spurs 2—0. it's the sixth time liverpool have won europe's top club prize.

don't forget that donald trump is on his way to the uk for the state visit. it is anticipated and we will have all the coverage here on bbc news. hello. sunday was a real mixed bag of weather right across the british isles. for some, it was rain and puddles. elsewhere, particularly at weybourne in norfolk, 28.8 celsius was recorded, making it the hottest day of the year so far, and as ever, our weather watchers were right on the spot. now, that weather front eventually has dragged what was left of the rain into the near continent and up into scandinavia, leaving behind the big area of low pressure which will dominate scotland's weather for the next day or two. a lot of isobars on that chart, as well, so some pretty gusty conditions there. now, that weather front will have had the effect of dragging the heat away from the british isles, shovelling it into the continent, and our air will be coming from the atlantic, so a fresher feel to start the new day on monday.

and showers right from the word go, gusty showers at that, with the odd rumble of thunder in there, i don't doubt. and that's going to be the case for northern and western parts of scotland, northern ireland too. further south across england and wales, a dry enough day, but a speckling of afternoon showers running along on the breeze from wales and the south—west up towards the midlands and east anglia. from monday into tuesday, as the low pressure centre drifts just a little bit further north, away from scotland, isobars opening out, so we'll bring in this little secondary low pressure in towards the south—western approaches, spreading the threat of showery bursts of rain through the south—west, wales, the western midlands, eventually to northern ireland, northern parts of england, central and southern parts of scotland, too. and it's only really the far south—east and maybe the north of scotland that during daylight hours escapes the heaviest of the rainfall. now, i think we'll complete the journey of that weather front towards the north of scotland overnight from tuesday into wednesday. and then, if we've got the sums right, we'll be looking down

towards the near continent, because it could well be that some really moist, muggy air eventually drags the threat of some heavy, thundery downpours into this far south—eastern quarter of the british isles. elsewhere, it's a decent enough day, showers in the south—west perhaps, and still the remnants of that front a bit of bother across northern scotland, rather murky fare here. but in between, it's a pleasant enough day. then through the evening and overnight again, as i say, there's some doubt about this. it could well be that we drag meaningful rain through parts of the midlands up across eastern england. the bulk of it, i think, will be found out in the north sea. but there's just the chance that it could come a little further west. it's a pretty neat call, as you can see. so thursday could turn out to be a wet day. across the eastern half of the british isles, the best of the sunshine, i would have thought, for northern ireland and perhaps the north of scotland.

this is bbc news. the headlines: president trump is flying to britain for a three—day state visit. on arrival later on monday, he will be greeted by queen elizabeth. outgoing prime minister theresa may has described mr trump's visit as an opportunity to further strengthen the special relationship between the two countries. the search for eight missing climbers in the himalayas is due to resume. the indian airforce had suspended the operation due to poor weather conditions. four britons, two americans, an australian and an indian are missing. nanda devi is considered one of the toughest peaks in the indian himalayas. the italian transport minister has said the government is ready to ban large cruise ships from the giudecca canal in venice. he tweeted his comments after a giant cruise liner lost control and crashed into a pier, hitting a smaller sightseeing boat. the ship suffered engine failure.